It’s that time of year. Government delegations have gathered from around the world for the next round of United Nations climate negotiations. In fact, it’s their 17th such conference — COP17.
And well, the picture in front of us here isn’t all that pretty. We all remember the massive failure to reach a fair, ambitious, and binding treaty in Copenhagen in 2009. And now some wealthy countries are talking about delaying any sort of new treaty for another 4 to 9 years. 4 to 9 years!
Our allies at AOSIS (the alliance of small island states) described such talk as “reckless and irresponsible.” That’s putting it lightly.
And though some countries are trying to downplay expectations for the negotiations, in no way are we giving up on what science says in truly necessary to ensure the survival of all countries and peoples. We can’t wish away the physics and chemistry that tell us we have to act urgently to get back below 350 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere. So that’s what we’ll be fighting for here in Durban.
To introduce a bit more about our work during these weeks of the UN meeting and to invite your help to get the message out Winnie Asiti, a 350 organizer from Kenya who journeyed overland with over 160 African youth to be here, recorded this video…
We have our work cut out for us here. We’re doing all we can to support the most vulnerable countries who will stand up for what science and justice demand, and more than ever we’re going to take on the forces that are holding back progress — most notably the corporations trying to stall progress.
That’s not nearly all we’re up to. Youth already came together for a hugely inspiring gathering the last few days. We joined together with folks form Occupy Durban for the first Occupy COP17 general assembly outside the conference venue today, and more creative action is still in the works.
But as always, what we do here in Durban alone won’t suffice in creating the change we need — that can only come through grassroots movement the world over, and that’s where you come in. With so much attention concentrated on the African continent during this conference we’re uniting with organizers across the continent to spread the message of our movement through song and stories on radio — an essential media form far more widely used than internet here in Africa. Join us for Radio Wave here: https://radiowave.350.org.
Onwards!